Warfare > Mari-Ebla War

Mari-Ebla War

Background

The earliest attested king in the letter of Enna-Dagan is Ansud, who is mentioned as attacking Ebla, the traditional rival of Mari with whom it had a long war,[23] and conquering many of Ebla's cities, including the land of Belan.[note 5][22] The next king mentioned in the letter is Saʿumu, who conquered the lands of Ra'ak and Nirum,[note 6][22] but king Kun-Damu of Ebla defeated Mari in the middle of the 25th century BC.[26] The war continued with Išhtup-Išar of Mari conquest of Emar,[22] at a time of Eblaite weakness in the mid-24th century BC. King Igrish-Halam of Ebla had to pay tribute to Iblul-Il of Mari,[26][27] who is mentioned in the letter conquering many of Ebla's cities and campaigning in the Burman region.[22]Enna-Dagan also received tribute,[27] and his reign fell entirely within the reign of Irkab-Damu of Ebla,[28] who managed to defeat Mari and end the tribute.[18] Mari defeated Ebla's ally Nagar in year seven of the Eblaite vizier Ibrium's term, causing the blockage of trade routes between Ebla and southern Mesopotamia via upper Mesopotamia.[29] The war reached a climax when the Eblaite vizier Ibbi-Sipish made an alliance with Nagar and Kish to defeat Mari in a battle near Terqa.[30] Ebla itself suffered its first destruction a few years after Terqa in c. 2300 BC,[31] during the reign of the Mariote king Hidar.[32]According to Alfonso Archi, Hidar was succeeded by Isqi-Mari whose royal seal was discovered and it depicts battle scenes, causing Archi to suggest that he was responsible for the destruction of Ebla while still a general.[32][33] Just a decade after Ebla's destruction (c. 2300 BC middle chronology),[34] Mari itself was destroyed and burned by Sargon of Akkad,[35] Michael Astour give the date as c. 2265 BC (short chronology).[36]